As Guides arrived for our second Space-themed meeting, they were asked to work with their Patrols to think about what a shelter for a research team on another planet might look like and what humans would need to survive.
We had our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game.
Our main activities started off with a bit of Astronaut Training! We found out about the importance of strong muscles and bones and tried some Strength Training with squats and push-ups. We also explored reflexes and hand-eye co-ordination with a bit of Hand-Eye Reaction Training, where the Guides had to try catching dropped objects before they hit the floor. There are lots of great activities at Mission X: Train Like an Astronaut (see the link below).
We then explored food in space. Astronauts use dehydrated and freeze-dried foods in space, rehydrating their meals before eating. To get an idea of what it would be like to eat in space, we tried out some dehydrated foods - Hawaiian Rice with Chicken, Sweet Corn, and Apple Almond Crisp. Everyone agreed that the Sweet Corn was the best!
The remainder of the meeting was devoted to building space vehicles. We had a variety of space ships, rovers, rockets, and other creations that could be used for space travel!
After cleaning up, we had a bit of time to share each Patrol's space shelter and everyone's space vehicles.
We ended with reminders for next week and closed with Taps.
Links:
In April, we spent two weeks working on Space-themed activities as requested by the Guides.
As everyone arrived, each Patrol worked on creating a skit based on a constellation story. We provided the stories of Andromeda (The Princess), Cassiopeia (The Queen) and Orion (The Hunter).
We had our usual opening ceremony, followed by an active game before starting our main activities for the evening.
Our first activity was an introduction to space and astronomy. We then watched the message made for Girl Guides from Jenni Sidey for World Space Week in 2017 (see link below). We spent a bit of time learning how to use a Star Wheel to find constellations at different times of the year.
One of our Guiders shared a First Nations story about the Great Bear (Usra Major) and the Pole Star (Polaris). We then had an active True/False Quiz about the Solar System. Everyone started in the middle of the room, one wall was designated as True and another as False. When a statement was read out, players ran to the wall representing their answer. Everyone learned a few new facts!
- Pluto is a planet. False - Pluto was considered a planet until 2006. Now it is a dwarf planet.
- Jupiter is the smallest planet in the solar system. False - The smallest is Mercury, Jupiter is the largest.
- It would take two days to get to Mars by rocket. False - It would take 6-8 months.
- The Earth is the only planet with a moon. False - There are many other moons. Almost all the planets have at least one, and Jupiter has at least 63!
- It rains diamonds on Neptune. True - It has been suggested by many scientists that the methane in the air causes diamonds to rain down on Neptune.
- Only two astronauts have every visited Mercury. False - No human has ever set foot on a planet other than Earth.
- Saturn is the only planet with rings. False - Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune also have rings.
- The first animal in space was a dog. True - Her name was Laika, but unfortunately she didn't survive.
- Sally Ride was the first woman in space. False - She was the first American woman in space, but the Russians got there first with Valentina Tereshkova.
- There is a Chinese space station. True - It's name is Tiangong.
- Russian astronauts are called cosmonauts. True - and Chinese astronauts are called Taikonauts.
- There are robots on Mars. True - Among them are Curiosity, Phoenix, Spirit and Opportunity.
- There is a mountain on Mars that is 3 times as tall as Mount Everest. True - Olympus Mons, or Mount Olympus, is 24km tall!
- Our galaxy is called Andromeda. False - Our galaxy is the Milky Way. Andromeda is another galaxy about 2.5 million light years from Earth.
- Meteors and shooting stars are the same thing. True - They are both streaks of light produced when a meteoroid burns up in the Earth's atmosphere.
- Comets are made mostly of ice. True - Comets are balls of frozen gasses, dust and rocks. When they get close to the sun, they start to melt and that's what creates their tail.
Our main project for the evening was Night Sky themed wooden plaques. We provided wooden plaques in different shapes and a variety of different wooden pieces that could be glued on, glue guns, paint, and brushes. The results were very good - and unique!
After cleaning up, the Patrols performed the skits they had prepared at the beginning of the meeting. We ended with reminders for next week and closed with Taps.
Links:
On Friday night, 10 Guides and 4 Second-Year Brownies got together for an evening of STEM-themed fun! We had four stations available and girls moved through them in any order they chose, spending as much or as little on each activity as they wished. Everyone had a good time designing, creating and building. We had a snack of pizza, veggies and dip before saying good-bye to our Brownie friends.
Build a Rocket Car
Our first station - and probably the most popular! - was to build a balloon-powered rocket car. The original plan was to use paper towel rolls for the body of the cars, but we soon found that they were too heavy, so we experimented and came up with some creative designs using alternate materials. Supplies provided were paper towel rolls, styrofoam cups, straws, sponges, skewers, balloons, tape, rulers and scissors.
Create a Kaleidoscope
The second station focused on physics and girls were able to create a working kaleidoscope. We used the heavier tubes from industrial paper towels for the basis of the kaleidoscopes. The eye piece is created by cutting out a circle of cardstock and punching a hole in the centre, then using packing tape to attach it to one end of the tube. Next, a pre-measured and scored piece of cardboard is folded to make a triangle. The inside of the triangle is covered with tinfoil (using silver cardboard would have been better), then the triangle is taped together and inserted into the tube. We then used tri-beads and salad dressing containers (small) attached to the open end of the tube to finish things off. When painted towards a light source and turned, the light passes through the coloured beads and refracts off the foil surface to create the coloured designs!
Design a Pencil Case
The third station challenged girls to upcycle two plastic cups into a pencil case, treasure box, bug catcher, or anything else their imagination could come up with! We provided cups, velcro for attaching the cups to each other, glue and decorating supplies.
Crack a Code
The fourth station was all about cryptography and codes. The girls had a chance to try out different types of codes, including a Caesar Cipher Wheel, Pigpen Cipher, Morse Code, Scytale Cipher, and creating their own Secret Code.
After the Brownies left, we cleaned up and then the
Guides played board games, read and chatted before going to bed.
Saturday morning was busy with clean-up, breakfast, packing and
good-byes before heading home.
Links and Downloads:
As Guides arrived for our second Space-themed meeting, they were asked to work with their Patrols to think about what a shelter for a research team on another planet might look like and what humans would need to survive. 
